Part of a holder’s scope of services may be to assist the owner in analyzing and reporting on the bids received during the bid procurement process. The Canadian Handbook of Practice (CHOP v.3) Chapter 6.5 covers the topic in the section titled “Analysis of Bids” – emphasizing the importance that the selection of the successful bidder be the responsibility of the owner (and their legal advisors). Holders should not attempt to determine which bids are compliant, nor recommend award to any bidder.

CCDC-23, “A Guide to Calling Bids and Awarding Construction Contracts”, covers bid analysis in section 8.1 “Bid Analysis and Evaluation for Compliance”. As the title of this section suggests, the primary purpose of the bid analysis is to evaluate the bids for compliance with the bid documents. This analysis is done to compare what has been received in the bid submission against the bid submission requirements stated in the Instructions to Bidders that formed part of the bid documents.

This bid information may be summarized on a spreadsheet for ease of comparison and analysis of the various bids received against the requirements of the bid documents. This spreadsheet may be provided to the owner as an attachment to the holder’s bid analysis letter to assist the owner in their selection of a successful bidder. CHOP v3 contains a sample form 2.6 “Summary of Bids” in Chapter 6.8 that can be used to record the bids that are received and a sample spreadsheet is included in the section as a “Bid Analysis Spreadsheet”.